ALS Narrative Nervous System Correlation

1671 Words4 Pages

Correlation Paper

Quarter 2 Muscles, Endocrine, Nervous ALS 1/16/2015

Ryan Ballard

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal disease in which the motor neurons in the brain, brain stem, and spinal cord are attacked and killed over time. Also known as Lou Gehrigs disease (after the hall of fame baseball player), ALS belongs to a group of disorders described by the decay and death of motor neurons called the motor neuron diseases. Although there are many symptoms associated with ALS that appear to occur quickly and randomly, the progression of the disease has been known to vary according to the individual. Motor neurons are cells located in the central …show more content…

Efferent neurons carry the electrochemical signal back from sensory organs to the central nervous system. A neuron has three parts, the soma, the axon and the dendrites. The soma contains the nucleus which holds all the genetic information as well as other regular cell organelles which function to keep the cell alive. The axon is a long thin nerve fiber that creates electrical impulses and then sends them to where they are needed. The dendrites receive the electrochemical signals from the other units of the nervous system (What Is a Motor Neuron, n.d.). There are three main categories motor neurons are classified in: Somatic motoneurons, special visceral motoneurons, and general visceral motoneurons. Somatic motoneurons are directly involved in locomotion and the contraction of skeletal muscles. Special visceral motoneurons are involved with providing the branchial muscles (face and neck) with movement. General visceral motoneurons indirectly allow for the contraction of the cardiac muscle, as well as for the smooth muscles of the viscera (muscle in arteries). Since this type of motor neuron is indirectly controlled by the nervous system it cannot be consciously controlled ( …show more content…

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